


CFW

by cookiesyndrome (defwithoutsleep)



Category: TWICE (Band)
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, F/F, Unfinished Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:33:53
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23137741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/defwithoutsleep/pseuds/cookiesyndrome
Summary: Jihyo has always been careful to hide what she is, succesfully living a life as a fake beta in front of her family and friends, but all changes when she has an encounter with Im Nayeon
Relationships: Im Nayeon/Park Jisoo | Jihyo
Comments: 7
Kudos: 51





	CFW

**Author's Note:**

> It's incomplete, and I just couldn't find inspiration to finish it, but I wanted the fic to see the light of day lol. Hope it's enjoyable

Christmas shopping was going well, if Jihyo said so. She had been able to get some scented candles half the price and she had gotten several spices she would need to prepare dinner for that day. Now, what she would need to do, would be to get decorations, since Momo had destroyed them last week when she had returned from a christmas party drunk. Perhaps she would need to get more tree ornaments, or some carton figurines of Santa Claus.

Well, she was about to pay, and she was relieved. Despite being close to the big holiday, the store didn’t seem to be as filled with people as she had thought of before, so finding a clear line was easy, and paying for her things was even more so. Credit cards made the world much easier to deal with.

She practically ran outside the store, bags in a vice grip. It was in those moments that she wished she would’ve come with her car, but she had figured out that she needed some fresh air and a walk. It’s just that she loved cold.

No, but now she could feel an unfamiliar coil in her gut, that started when she had been looking at the different candles inside the store, when a delicious, kind of familiar scent reached her nostrils, making her go into panic mode.

Although she wasn’t very familiar with the coil in her gut (at least, not in this intensity), she was aware of what it was, and what represented. That was her cue to leave. It didn’t stop the fluttering in her chest and the little voice in her head that told her to turn around and return to the store to look for the person who had such a smell.

“I’m home!” she screamed in japanese (to be fair, one of the only phrases she knew in that language thanks to her roomie).

“Hai, welcome home!” A voice responded before the girl owning it appeared from behind the couch. “Oh, what did you bring?” she asked excitedly as she ran to Jihyo, giving her a big hug.

“Some ornaments to replace the ones you broke, you drunk,” she answered as she playfully hit the blonde’s head. The other girl pouted, rubbing her head.

“I said I was sorry.”

“Sorry doesn’t repair the ornaments,” Jihyo shot back. “Anyways, I also brought some ingredients to prepare dinner for tonight.”

“Oh, that’s right. The bosses’ dinner is today. What are you doing?”

That’s right. Her parents’ bosses Christmas party was tonight, and Jihyo’s mom had asked her pleadingly to help her cook the humongous amount of food she was demanded to make.

It had always been like this since Jihyo was a child.

As far as her parents tell it, before she was born, they lived in poverty when they were graciously hired by the prestigious Im clan to serve one of the families main branches as a cook and housekeeper, respectively. There she was born, and had known nothing but the hard work that came with tending for a huge home and their snotty inhabitants.

She could remember even at a young age, how she was also demanded to help, not just with cooking, but making sure that everything was on point before the yearly party started. She had breathed a sigh of relief when she heard her parents were changing jobs, believing she was over helping again. But nope. They had only changed bosses, from one family of the Im clan to the other, making them move into the city where Jihyo now lived, thanks to her admission into the prestigious Yonsei University a year ago.

“I don’t know. Usually boss’ orders come last minute,” she shrugged, feeling if a little annoyed. You would think that since they knew this party was a yearly tradition, they would be prepared with more anticipation than before. But who knows.

“Hmm, you don’t look so fine,” Momo pointed out.

She was also, annoyingly, right. The most stressful part of all of this was the fact that she had just began her rut. It was difficult in itself to hide that she was an... alpha... jesus... to her classmates and professors; it was another whole thing to hide it from the person that birthed you, even when you have been hiding it ever since you presented, back when you were 14.

In retrospect, it was easier then, when the work at the time left them too exhausted to even think much about things happening in their adolescent daughter’s life. Not to mention that Jihyo, more often than not, wasn’t at home; she would be at night academies, absorbing every last bit of knowledge she could get so she could leave the town for the big city, where even less people would care about her anatomy.

Still, it had been difficult to go into the medical examination. The image of the shocked nurse, whose gaze went from her chart and Jihyo’s naked body, still filled her with embarrassment. No, her parents could never know.

“Just a little stressed about the dinner,” Jihyo smiled forcefully. She had felt inclined to tell her beta friend the truth, but she didn’t have the confidence to do it. Ultimately, she was a freak, someone who, in the opinion of many, shouldn’t have been born. It was obvious her blonde friend would have run away from her if she knew.

“Okay,” Momo said more slowly, as if analyzing Jihyo’s answer in her head.

“So where is Jeongyeon?” Jihyo asked with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders.

“She’s out, vaping,” Momo answered, still eyeing her suspiciously.

“Well, I’m going to prepare my stuff. Please, don’t touch the ornaments,”she said, walking to her room, hoping that she could avoid Momo’s questioning. More often than not, that girl would surprise a stranger or two, even herself, with how perceptive she could be.

So, she needed to prepare herself for the dinner, as she supposed she reeked of rut, and if it wasn’t because her roomies were beta, and, therefore, immune to the smells alphas and omegas often perceived, she would’ve had a problem in her hands. She had seen the signs a few days ago, but she had hoped, in vain, that it wouldn’t coincide with the date where she would be meeting her parents (and a shit ton of important people). The universe hated her.

Opening the cabinet, she grabbed the black bottle, scrunching her nose at the foul smell that she knew would blend with her own smell to appear neutral, maybe a beta, to any unsuspecting fool. She had first discovered this marvel back in Jeonju’s black market, and had never looked back ever since. Still, she was afraid that this time, it wouldn’t work well enough for her to pass undetected while interacting with people.

She could say she was sick.

No, she couldn’t do that to her parents, who obviously depended on her to help them as she had always done. The only time she hadn’t been able to help them was last year, and she had felt guilty when she saw their exhausted faces when they skyped each other.

Pushing the bottle’s button, she sprayed herself thoroughly, enduring the odor for far more than just a few seconds.

“Done,” she said as she gave another look at the bottle, this night’s real mvp.

\--

Despite already knowing that this branch of the Im family was bigger than the one in Jeonju, she was still agape at the state she was entering in her shitty car. Even the gatekeeper had seen her strangely until she explained her reason for coming. Hell, she wasn’t even offended at the guy; it was perfectly understandable.

Her parents had hugged her when she appeared in front of them, elated to see their usually absent, but studious daughter. Jihyo had hugged them back half-heartedly, hoping they wouldn’t be able to smell her at all.

“So, what are we cooking today?” Jihyo asked friendly as she put her apron on.

“Here. I wouldn’t be able to pronounce such fancy names,” her mother answered mockingly, finding the foreign names something to laugh about.

“Wow. Oh, wow. How are we even...?” her voiced trailed off.

“Oh, hello there!” a voiced boomed, making her jump in her place. She turned around, and saw a man, a very handsome man, might she add, looking at her curiously. Her face reddened as she bowed, her countenance becoming more closed.

“H-hello.”

“I see you’re the Park’s daughter. I’m Im Soohyuk.” He extended his hand for her to shake, which seemed a little odd to her, but, not wanting to appear as rude, she shakily extended her hand as well, feeling nervous of fucking up in front of the Im’s son.

“Y-yes. P-park J-ji-h-hyo.” His hand was firm upon contact, and she suspected hers was weak, barely shaking his in comparison.

“Well,” he continued when he finally let go of her hand. “I just came here to see if you need anything.”

“Oh no, don’t worry about a single thing,” her mother cooed, almost making Jihyo snort. “Our precious daughter already brought us what we needed. Isn’t she pretty?”

Jesus. Her face burned even more when Soohyuk laughed and nodded, apparently agreeing with them. 

“Very lovely. Well, I’ll have to regrettably go to attend other preparations. Nice to meet you, Jihyo.”

“Y-you t-t-t-too,” she stuttered before he finally left. “Mom! Why did you have to tell him that?” she whined after she finally came into her senses.

“It’s the truth! You are a lovely girl. You just need to put yourself out there,” her mother said, trying to smooth Jihyo’s shirt. “and your prince charming will come.” Jihyo groaned, but said nothing, instead deciding to turn her head, so as to not let her mother see her bitterness, the tears that involuntarily formed in her eyes.

_The prince charming was destined to be with a beautiful princess, not with a deformed monster._

When the time of the party was coming closer, different kitchen workers started pouring in, some talking about the kind of ingredients they had managed to get and how much of an odyssey it had been, some actually noticing her and introducing themselves to her. 

She was grateful most didn’t seem to notice her presence. It seemed they were too preoccupied with the upcoming hard work to care about an extra set of hands in the kitchen.

It was gratifying when she started cooking. She had acquired a passion for cooking since she was a child, and it had become her solace as she grew up, seeing it as true art, an expression of one’s own mind in a combination of flavors and sensations that were unique to anything else. There, the only thing she had to do was listen and do, never speak, never confront the people that maybe one day would mock her if they knew.

The hardest part came when she had to change into a server tuxedo and had to bring plates and drinks to the guests tables. She knew they didn’t even care for some obscure server girl, but the interaction with these almost otherworldly beings made her feel small.

“T-t-this i-is L-lamb c-c-c-chops with b-b-al-samic r-r-reduc--tion,” she stuttered out, feeling more nervous by the second. A woman at the beginning of the table - Im Soojin, the hostess - called for her, her mouth twisted in displeasure.

“Y-yes, ma’am?”

“Take a plate to my daughter’s room and tell her to... No, just take a plate to her room. You wouldn’t even be able to speak properly.” Jihyo felt a knot in her throat, thoroughly shamed, as she knew other people had heard her. The woman stopped with a movement of her hand, her nose scrunching to smell something. Jihyo panicked.

“Now go,” she ordered harshly after a moment, and Jihyo relaxed a little.

“Y-y-yes.” But the self-hatred was still there, for the woman was right.

“W-w-where is t-t-the daughter’s r-r-r-r-room?” she asked one of the server’s who gave her very detailed directions to Im Nayeon’s room.

“Poor kid,” the server finalized, leaving to go on her task. She decided not to dwell on their words - unaware if the compassion was extended to her or to the Im’s daughter - as she walked, plate in hand, to look for Im Nayeon’s room.

As she finally approached, as far as she knew, to the room, her nose picked up a wonderful smell -citrus and something like bergamot- making her mouth water. Perhaps the hunger she had felt in the midst of cooking had intensified as she served, and she hadn’t noticed due to her nervousness.

“Hello. Miss, your food is here,” she said more fluently, knocking the door to the room. The smell had intensified, and she wasn’t certain of what was going on until she heard a moan, making her freeze on the spot.

_No, no, no, no._

The girl was in heat.

Her eyes bulged and she gave a few steps back, tripping on her feet. Her body was sweating bullets, her mind screaming in instinct to open the door, to take whoever was in there. The smell was just so...

The door slammed open, and Jihyo was given no room to ask or do anything, as she was pulled into the room, the smell now embracing her entirely. She was pushed to a wall next to the now closed door. Jihyo’s breath was ragged as she heard another moan, and now, feminine curves were molding into her body with urgency.

“T-take me. Take me, please,” the girl moaned, her hands roaming Jihyo’s figure, as if trying to find relief in her new partner. Jihyo wanted to breath, to clear her head. She had steered clear of the usual desire and instincts rut came with before, so it shouldn’t be too difficult to...

She looked at the girl in front of her, who now looked at her pleadingly, - her smoldering eyes somehow helpless - biting her lower lip coyly.

No, she had to leave. This would just end in disaster.

But, like a switch, the girl pressed her hips into Jihyo’s, making the latter growl in a manner so foreign, she had never known. The girl seemed egged on, as she continued grinding against her hips.

“Please. Take me. I need you.”

And Jihyo’s rationale flew out of the window. 

She growled again as she swooped in to take Nayeon’s lips. The latter whimpered, her arms finally staying put behind Jihyo’s shoulders. She’s lost in her lips, drunk with lust before she decides to taste more of the girl in front of her. Her lips moved to her neck, where she started sucking at the skin, tasting the tang of salt with her tongue.

The girl moved more hurriedly, a barrage of probably dirty words leaving her mouth that Jihyo couldn’t decipher, except for the choked “please”.

Her hand traveled south, slowly exploring the girl’s form, teasing with the promise of relief. Nayeon’s legs trembled when Jihyo finally moved her hand to touch her heat, gently caressing the folds. The other girl grinded against her fingers, making Jihyo grunt in a mixture of pleasure and frustration, her knot already throbbing with the need of release.

This was so unreal. The girl in front was so unreal, gasping for relief, releasing cries as Jihyo fingered her roughly, her mouth now exploring the skin above her collarbone.

“F-faster! Faster!” The girl cried out, her fingernails now burying into Jihyo’s skin. The latter could feel the pain in her back, and she obeyed Nayeon, pumping as fast as she could. She could feel cum dripping down her hand, and she had a sudden urge to taste Nayeon.

The girl was getting more winded up, her muscles tensing with each stroke. It was only a matter of time before...

“Ah!” Nayeon screamed, her nails now leaving moon shaped wounds on Jihyo’s shoulders. She shook thoroughly, crying in relief.

“Shh,” Jihyo cooed, embracing her completely. “I won’t let you go. I won’t let you fall.” Jihyo continued whispering sweet nothings as Nayeon’s body shook for a few seconds more before everything became quiet. Jihyo’s knot was still throbbing, but there was some kind of instinct to protect the girl in her arms, to let her rest, for she had been completely shattered.

The girl started moving, which Jihyo took as a sign of wanting her to let go. She tried unwinding her arms, but Nayeon hugged her tighter and started trying to walk backwards, towards the bed.

The girl tried pulling Jihyo into her bed, but the latter resisted, not quite feeling comfortable in lying in a stranger’s bed.

“Stay with me,” the girl pleaded, and Jihyo finally relented.

The girl cuddled against Jihyo, who in turn hugged Nayeon close. Despite the pain in her crotch, she closed her eyes in content.

They had all the time in the world.

\--

Jihyo woke up with an astounding headache, to the point of not wanting to move a single limb to even find a new position, which was usual for her to do when she first woke in the morning. Despite herself, she heard someone knocking on the door with urgency.

_What does Momo want?_

“Miss Im?”

_Miss... Im?_

Jihyo jumped from to side, making her fall from the bed. There she was, her nose now wrinkling due to the lack of warmth, her body curled, sunken into the bed. No wonder Jihyo felt all too warm.

_What did I do?!_

Images of last night appeared in her mind, and she internally screamed. What had she done? What had she done? If somebody saw her here, her parents would be ruined, her life would be ruined. How could she be so reckless?!

Turning to the side, she saw a window, and an idea suddenly formed in her head. It wasn’t the best idea, but it beat having whoever was outside enter the room and discover her or having the girl wake up. Opening the window as quiet as she could, she looked down to see what were her possibilities to survival.

_Lucky. There’s a vine in this wall._

She tried to climb down, but she felt pain in her crotch.  _Oh, god._ There stood proudly her knot, obviously not content with just what had happened last night.  _Oh, god. Whatever, I’ll deal with this at home._

She climbed down, trying to camouflage with the plants on the garden, hoping that no one would notice.

A thought came to her mind when she was finally down, now hiding behind a shrub.

_Wait, how am I going to get my car?_

She groaned.

_Whatever, I’ll come back later. I’ll make an excuse or something._

And with that, she escaped, worried about being seen or ‘being seen’ by anyone else. When she was finally far away from the Im household, she tried calling a cab. The only problem was...

“Where is my phone? No! Where is my phone?”

\--

A few days had already passed by, her car now in the garage, but her phone still missing, she had decided to just stay at home and wallow in her misery. What if the girl -Nayeon- told someone else? What if somebody else saw her and the Im family was already investigating on how to dispose her body?

She decided to stay at home.

When she had gone back for her car, she had to explain to her parents that her phone had been ruined when she was cooking one of the courses. Her mother shook her head, as one of the rules (that they knew Jihyo knew already) was to never have anything that could fall into the food close to you, even less things like phones.

Jeongyeon (and Momo) had tried coaxing her out of the room, but she hadn’t wanted to. She felt so much shame for what she had done. She could imagine herself coming out of her room, her roommates smelling her, and screaming at her for being a degenerate, a freak. Her heart ached, even if it was ridiculous (they couldn’t smell these type of smells as a beta), and she decided to hide. After all, they were her only friends, the only people that had tried to befriend her despite her obvious nervous stutter.

She almost jumped out of her bed when the door to her room opened (she had locked it, unless...). There stood Jeongyeon, dangling a key on her finger, Momo almost hiding behind her like a puppy.  _Dammit._

“Could you please tell why are you so sad?” Jihyo groaned, swinging the covers over her head.

“Fine, don’t tell us.” She could hear Momo whining in the background. “But at least, could you go with us to have breakfast?”

“Why?” Jihyo mumbled.

“Because I’m hungry, and I want to eat with my best friend,” Momo pitched in, her voice filled with aegyo. Jihyo’s heart melted.

“Okay,” she said after a pause. “Let me get ready.”

“Yay!” she heard, and chuckled at Jeongyeon’s ramble of not being appreciated enough.

\--

She definitely felt better as she spoke with her friends about different things, and laughed at Momo’s (and her friend’s) antics at the Christmas party she hadn’t been able to attend.

“I don’t know why, but Jackson decided to use straws to drink tequila through his nose,” Momo recounted pensively while Jihyo shook her head, hiding a smile, and Jeongyeon cackled.

“I bet he choked,” she answered between laughs.

They entered Starbucks, and Jihyo shrank, feeling nervous at the sight of so many people, some of which were looking at her, in her opinion, intently. It made her feel self-conscious, as if they were about to discover her secret if they looked hard enough.

“Oh! They still have the special Christmas edition muffin!” Momo relayed excitedly, closing on the window of the display case. Caressing the window, she turned to look at Jeongyeon. “I need this in my life.” Jihyo snorted.

“I-i think I’ll g-go with the c-c-chocolate chip m-muffin.” She cursed herself internally. It was just Momo and Jeongyeon, her friends, but more than a few pair of eyes didn’t seem to leave her, making her feel stressed and anxious.

Jeongyeon, as always, ordered for the both of them, but, as always, Jihyo pitched in to pay for both of them, despite the former’s protests. After all, Jihyo owed them for cheering her up.

They sat down, knowing that, since the café was filled with people, their order would take a little longer than usual.

“I think that guy is interested in you,” Momo said teasingly as she tried to point to a person behind Jihyo.

“What? Ha, ha, ha, no way,” Jihyo answered nervously, trying to shrug off Momo’s comment.

“Yeah, he’s been eyeing you since we entered,” Jeongyeon continued, a smirk on her lips.

“Nope, uh, I don’t think that’s the case,” Jihyo answered.

“Yeah, if you just turned around a little, you’d see.” But Jihyo was saved by the worker who bellowed out their names. She tried hiding a smile of relief, but probably failed.

There was hope of serious conversation being left aside for the delicious food in front of them, but it were destroyed when Momo decided to open her mouth to do something else other than eat.

“What’s wrong?”

“With-with what?” 

“You’ve been acting so anxious since the Christmas dinner at your parents workplace.”

“Nah, this-this is me.”

“No, the Jihyo I know is strong, dependable. She wouldn’t be stuttering with me at her side,” Jeongyeon added, her face more steely than a few moments before.

“Then maybe you know a different Jihyo,” she bit back, frustration seeping into her words.

“We do, more than anyone here will realize,” Momo smiled sadly, turning to look at her latte.

Jihyo closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“What for?”

“For... for everything. I really want to tell you, but... It’s just...” Jeongyeon placed a hand over hers.

“It’s okay. When you’re ready, tell us. We won’t judge you or think badly of you.” _You don’t know. You don’t know._

And just like that, Momo continued talking about her Christmas party, and how a guy had decided to drink beer with dirt from a pot inside the host’s house. Her heart eased, and she continued inwardly laughing at Momo’s stories. A part of her wished she could be more like Momo. Friendly, sociable, extrovert Momo.

Jihyo left those thoughts alone, wanting to enjoy herself for a while, not wanting to remember THE fuck up of her lifetime. Still, the more paranoid part of herself couldn’t stop fretting about the supposedly secret stares the girls sent to each other (secret, my ass, they were obvious as hell). She found out what was what when Jeongyeon finally said, a smirk on her lips,

“So, me and Momo have to go to the ladies’ room.”

Momo, being even less discreet than Jeongyeon, a miracle in and of itself, stood up immediately, winking at Jihyo before almost running to the bathroom, Jeongyeon following her behind, seemingly about to face-palm.

A shiver ran down her spine as she felt a presence get closer to her table. She froze, even when the man, an alpha, sat down in Momo’s chair. His smell was strong, all-encompassing, but not the sweet way Nayeon’s was.

_Wait. Why am I thinking about...?_

“Hi,” the man said with a smile, breaking Jihyo out of her little freak out.

“H-h-hi,” Jihyo stuttered, hoping Jeongyeon and Momo would come fast.

“My name is Jinsung,” he added, extending his hand to shake hers.

“N-n-nice t-t-to me-eet you,” Jihyo answered, flustered, shaking his hand nervously.

“So, nice-to-meet-you,” he announced teasingly, “I wanted to see if you would like to have coffee some time.”

Jihyo spluttered, looking panicked at the corridor where the bathroom was supposed to be.

“A-a-ah, w-w-well...” Was this real? No, it couldn’t. No one could ever pay attention to someone like her, much less be interested in dating her! He was an alpha. Could it possibly be that he just smelled her, and wanted to humiliate her? Is this it?

The man, Jinsung, seeing her hyperventilate, pedaled back, his smile disappearing. 

“I-I mean, if you want to. Gods, I’m sorry. You probably already have a boyfriend, and I’m discomforting you.”

“N-n-no! I don’t h-h-h-have a-a-a boy-f-f-friend!” she exclaimed hurriedly - as hurriedly as she could, anyway-, her mind already at disarray.

A small, tame smile appeared on his face.

“Well, if you want to talk, I’ll just...” his voice cut off as he hurriedly looked for a napkin and took a pen out of his shirt pocket. “Text me,” he completed his phrase, giving her the napkin that know had his number written on it. When Jihyo didn’t take it immediately, he left it there, leaving awkwardly. Almost immediately, the girls approached the table.

“Well, how did it go?” Jeongyeon asked tentatively.

“We-how- Why did you do that?!” Jihyo almost screamed.

“It was Jeongyeon’s idea,” Momo mumbled, her head already hanging low like a chastised child.

“Sorry!”, Jeongyeon exclaimed, perplexed, not bothering to deny Momo’s words. “I thought it would do you good. I thought that if you could see someone could be attracted to you, maybe you’ll come out of your shell for a moment.”

“And did you even think there’s a reason I’m in my ‘shell’?” Jihyo asked rhetorically, quietly, more calm than the words she had spoken a few moments ago.

“I’m sorry,” Jeongyeon answered defeated, though her expression gave away her annoyance and, at the same time, regret. “Do you want to leave?”

“No, let’s just finish our coffee,” Jihyo countered in the same quiet manner, feeling a tweak of guilt at the short-haired girl’s factions. But, she wouldn’t back down. Jeongyeon had no right to do this.

They stayed quiet for a while, seemingly the two girls at odds lost in their thoughts, before Momo decided to start talking about the thing that could make them bond, the thing that had made them become more than acquaintances a year ago.

“So, did you see the Pretty Little Liars season finale?”

\--

“No. How the fuck is Spencer going to have a twin. Are you nuts?”

“Yeah! Think about it. Why did she ask Hanna if she told the whole truth if she was a figment of Hanna’s imagination?”

The aura between the girls had finally eased, and after finishing their coffee, they decided to also go for some ice cream on their way home, hoping to see together the first episode of the last season.

“Well, maybe she was asking herself. Wanting to ease her worry by asking herself that. It’s just not...” And of course, as they were walking through the door, Jihyo clashed with somebody else. She rushed to turn to apologize, but her mouth was shut when she was met the with intense chocolate eyes of, who else, Im Nayeon. Jihyo swallowed.

“Sorry. She wasn’t looking were she was going,” Jeongyeon said conciliatory, elbowing Jihyo in the rib.

“A-a-ah. Y-yes. S-s-sorry.” The girl’s expression was still unreadable. _Does she remember?_

“Yeah, no problem,” Nayeon answered, and Jihyo almost sighed in relief.

_She was in heat. It’s probable she was too blinded by hormones to care about who was fucking her. Oh, gods._

She shook her head slightly and started power walking away from Starbucks, away from Nayeon, her friends following her pace. 

She just hoped Nayeon never remembered.

\--

She had spent another week slouching, watching netflix with Momo and Jeongyeon, playing Battlefield sometimes, but mostly listening to music and reading, enjoying the fact that she had no worries until another two weeks or so. 

She was in the midst of cooking dinner when she heard knocks on the door. Curious, she went to open the door, but before she could even raise her hand to open the door, the familiar smell that made her feel like she was drowning reached her nose, filling her entire senses.

_No, it can’t be._

The knocking became more insistent as she panicked, battling with herself whether her instinct was correct or her dumb ass was still feeling paranoid due to previous events. But no, it couldn’t be. Her entire body wouldn’t have (embarrassingly) caught on fire for a dumb scent if it wasn’t  _her_ .

Her fight-or-flight instinct turned on, and she was quite inclining towards flight, but she knew, sadly, that it did her no favors to run away. She had already done so once, and she had been converted into a pile of paranoia and fear for her life due to her own stupidity. She opened the door, her heart beating out her chest, feeling between giving herself a small encouragement and wanting to send herself to the seventh circle of hell.

What she expected was a cliched coincidence, maybe the girl being a acquaintance of one of her roomies. What she got was a serious Im Nayeon, a phone dangling from her hand.

“You left this in my room,” she deadpanned. _Kill me now._

Jihyo’s face burned as she tried reaching for her phone, a thank you in the tip of her tongue.  _Just thank her, and slam the door. Hopefully she won’t care..._

But Nayeon moved her hand, her phone with it, and put it in her pocket. Smiling a little, she asked, “May I come in?”

“O-o-of course,” she hurried, opening the door fully, cursing in her head as Nayeon strolled through the door into the living room.

“Nice flat,” the raven complimented as she sat on the couch.

“T-t-thanks,” she answered and hurriedly sat down on the couch, distancing herself from the omega. It took her entire willpower to not let her eyes look into the latter’s direction.

“So you’re an alpha,” Nayeon said, more affirming than questioning. Jihyo nodded slowly, feeling fear course through her veins. “A female alpha...”

“S-s-sorry,” Jihyo answered. “I-I shouldn’t h-h-h-have. P-p-please, f-f-forgive m-m-me,” Jihyo stuttered, but heard no response to her plea.

“You know, I was curious that morning, so I had to ask in the kitchen about a new girl.” the alpha’s heart frenzied with worry. “You’re Park ajumma’s daughter.”

“D-d-did y-y-you t-t-ell t-t-t-t-them?”

“Why would I?” Nayeon smirked. “It was obvious they didn’t know about you. Why else would they send you to my room?”

“P-p-p-please,” she shivered. “D-d-d-don’t t-t-tell them. J-j-j-just...” Nayeon’s smile grew.

“Why would I? They shouldn’t be knowing about my intimacy,” Jihyo sighed. “But, I could tell them about this crazy server in rut who tried to take me.” Jihyo’s eyes widened.

“No! Please! I-I-I’ll do whatever y-y-you want!”

“I know you will,” Nayeon looked satisfied, making Jihyo taste bile in her mouth.

“Are you ready for your new job?”

\--

Jihyo rubbed her still bleary eyes as she walked to the bus stop. In other circumstances, she would’ve used her own car to arrive to the Im residence, but Nayeon had explicitly said, “I don’t want to ride in a piece of junk about to explode.”

In other circumstances, she wouldn’t even have woken at five thirty in the morning to be on time to wake up the raven, but here she was. What she didn’t end up understanding is why would Nayeon, having so many people at her disposal, ready to ask how high when she said jump, blackmail a girl to help her do menial tasks such as wake her up in the morning, carry her books, or accompany her shopping.

Who knows.

The bus ride was quiet, the vestiges of the dark early morning still in the environment, making most people who rode with her, still look sleep-deprived and ready to quit their job for a few more hours of sleep. Her phone was playing one of her favorite songs,  _Good Night_ , making her feel more calm than she would’ve otherwise in this kind of situation.

In fact, if she thought about it, she had been the whole of her winter vacations fretting about the secret she now shared with Nayeon, whether she would tell someone or not, or make her life hell, as her beautiful, but malicious smile had relayed to her that day.

But here, now, in the quiet bus, she thought about Jeongyeon’s words that day at the cafe.  _That’s right. I’m responsible, I’m dependable... Or so Jeongyeon says. If I have to do this for my sake, I’ll do my best. After all, what’s the worse she could do?_

However, when she was already at the Im residence, knocking on Nayeon’s door, she realized she probably had asked the wrong question.

No, the real question wasn’t about what she would do, but about what kind of torture would her closeness cause her.

Her stomach clenched as the scent her mind had never wandered from since  _that day_ reached her nostrils, making her - against her will, might she add - inhale deeply.

Her back straightened when the door slammed open, revealing an out-of-the-shower Nayeon.

“G-g-good m-m-morning, M-m-miss Im.” Nayeon ignored her greeting, instead rushing down the stairs, leaving Jihyo no choice but to run after her.

They ended up in the dinning room, which looked as lavish as ever, even without the festive decorations it’d had for the party. The older girl took her sweet time looking at her breakfast after she had sat down at the last chair in the large table. Jihyo stood beside her, rather enthralled by the elaborate meal in front of her.

“What are you doing, idiot? Sit down,” Nayeon said, her eyebrow raising, as if mocking her. Jihyo sat on the chair to the former’s left.

“Feed me.”

“W-w-what?” Jihyo asked, hoping she had heard wrong.

“You heard me,” Nayeon answered nonchalantly. Jihyo turned to give a disbelieving stare, but Nayeon wasn’t even glancing in her direction. She was checking her nails, even though her plate filled with delicious food was in front of her.

Jihyo swallowed, but grabbed the fork with her right hand, nonetheless.

“Ah,” Jihyo made the motion as she took - with her trembling hand - the grape stabbed into the fork to Nayeon’s mouth. The latter didn’t seem to have any hurry, as she bit into the fruit, savoring it for a bit before letting the fork go, not forgetting to look at Jihyo throughout the whole process.

Yes, she had asked the wrong question.

\--

Well, if she had to stay on the positive side, she could definitely say that it was a very cool experience to go to class in a Mercedes, driven by the Im’s driver. The start of a new semester, and she smiled to herself.

Feeling someone’s gaze on her, she turned to look at Nayeon, who was just looking at her phone, probably texting someone.  _Guess I still have paranoia._

Surprisingly, the older girl hadn’t said a word after breakfast. In fact, just after her last bite (provided by Jihyo, of course), she had been entirely quiet, just stared at Jihyo for a few seconds, as if searching for something, and then stood up to almost run to the garage, where their driver waited for them (well, more for Nayeon). Jihyo had truly expected more teasing or bratty behavior, but she had been relieved (a small voice in her head provided the word disappointed, but she squashed it) to receive none of it.

Well, probably she shouldn’t have been so relieved.

As soon as they arrived, Nayeon attacked her with a barrage of words, she was sure it would have made any other person’s head swim.

“You’ll take me to and from my classes, so I expect you to be there before class ends. Obviously, I won’t be carrying my bag and books. In the first hour of free time, you’ll be waiting for me outside the library doors to study together. In the second hour, I’ll be with my friends, so you won’t be anywhere close to me. After last class, you’ll be waiting for me and take me to my car. Is that clear?”

“Y-y-yes, M-m-miss Im.” What Nayeon didn’t know, despite Jihyo’s stutter, is that the latter had decided to give it her all, not cower (as much) from what she was supposed to do, and hopefully, with time, Nayeon would release her hold on her.

The said girl just smiled cryptically and started walking. Jihyo just trailed behind.

After leaving Nayeon in her own classroom, she ran to hers, hoping the lecture hadn’t just started. If she had to be positive, it would do her some good to do some exer... Oh, who was she kidding. The Business School building was stupidly far from the Lab, where she had her first class.

When she arrived, the professor, who was already giving the syllabus for the semester, glared at her intently, making Jihyo’s face redden as she ran for an unoccupied seat.

It was mostly uneventful, as everyone was focused on the professor giving indications. She was supposed to be paying attention, but her thoughts strayed to a certain bratty girl. Well, not necessarily to her, just to her own grievances to her orders to follow. Sure, she had promised to herself she would have a better morale while doing the girl’s bidding, but the thought of running the whole day, as if she wasn’t busy enough with her major, exhausted her.

Anyways, the class, thankfully, ended early, giving Jihyo time to shove her notebook quickly into her messenger bag and run to Nayeon’s building.

\--

Jihyo looked at her feet as she moved them across the tile floor in front of the library. Twenty minutes had gone by, and Nayeon was nowhere in sight, making Jihyo sigh in exasperation. It was twenty minutes of lost time that she could have used to have some lunch or at least get some shut-eye. Since it was the first day, the classes she’d had until then had been uneventful, so she had nothing to review (after all, she always did her job of reviewing the class material before starting the semester, so she wasn’t exactly missing anything).

Frustration was replacing impatience, and, if she was being honest, she was feeling quite nervous, people’s gazes on her as they passed by, making her feel self-conscious. Wait, had she actually used the spray this morning? Yes, yes, she had. She wasn’t remembering incorrectly. It was just her own fear.

“Hey,” a non-chalant voice said behind her, making her jump at the intrusion in her own thoughts. Jihyo wished Nayeon would apologize for the waste of time, but of course she wouldn’t. The older girl just entered the library, expecting Jihyo to follow. What else could she do anyways?

It was a quiet time, with Nayeon surprisingly studying her course material. Since she had gotten comfy, as if she didn’t mean to get up any time soon, Jihyo got comfortable too, starting to get her notes from Biochemistry class. However, it wasn’t long before Nayeon requested something.

“Bring Marketing and Strategies, by Adams,” she had ordered, her sight not raising from her notes to even look at her. Jihyo nodded, even though she knew Nayeon wouldn’t see it, and went to look for it.

She didn’t know if Nayeon was toying with her because after she finally brought her the book (which was hard to find, since, as she came to know, the library only had a very old copy of it), the girl requested another book in an entirely different section of the library.

They basically played fetch, and as the pile of books on their table raised, Jihyo’s annoyance grew, even when she was trying to be calm. Nayeon was just pushing her buttons, making her bring more and more books until her arms were sore and their free hour was over. And if that wasn’t enough, Nayeon, whose voice was honeyed with a tone of fake innocence and coyness, asked, “Could you put these books in their place?” As if she actually had ever asked for anything politely.

She had to (for the nth time in this long, long day) hurry in doing what she had been ordered and be on time for her next class.

\--

The most calm time had been the second free hour, obviously the one hour she didn’t have the tyrant breathing down her neck.  _Don’t grab the books like that. Walk next to me. That bitch didn’t even greet me when my family loaned hers a shit ton of money._

Since it was the only time she could do whatever she wanted, she decided to walk towards the small park on campus, wishing to sit on one of the benches and read the novel she had started just a few days ago.

This was her favorite time, when she could submerge herself in the written fantasies, leaving the reality of her world aside to enter into another world where she could be loved, where she was the heroine that found her happy ending.

She found herself uncontrollably smiling as she read, excited to read what the story had in store for the heroine.

Time flew, and before she knew, she had to go back to her remaining classes, and, unwittingly, to reality.

\--

Jihyo closed her eyes, her forced enthusiasm long gone. Her legs ached (surprisingly so given the fact that she had worked before to pay for her stay at the dorm), and her head pulsed, almost making her grab her head in her hands, knowing that doing so would make it hurt way more.

The only reason she was grateful for Nayeon sending back to her dorm by bus was because she didn’t have to pretend to be okay for another second. The older girl had definitely exasperated her with unending requests, but that hadn’t been the worse; the worse had been to maintain her well put facade so that Nayeon wouldn’t feel like she won. Jihyo could see it, the girl was obviously trying to push her buttons, for whatever reason. However, she couldn’t let Nayeon win. Even if Jihyo owed her.

Her earbuds were already plugged to her ipod, and her finger was tapping her leg to the rhythm of the slow-paced song.

She still had to study her fresh notes and the material for tomorrow, and the thought of it tired her to no end. Who’s turn was it to cook today?

Oh, right.

“Excuse me, can you stop here?”

\--

Jihyo groaned as she saw Nayeon powerwalking towards her, latte in hand, frown in place. Although Jihyo didn’t know the older girl at all, she could tell she was pissy, at least, way more than usual.

“Follow me. Let’s work on this shit.”

Fortunately for Jihyo, there was a free table inside the library. For a moment, she was sure that if that wasn’t the case, an unknown victim would’ve been the target of Nayeon’s wrath, and Jihyo wasn’t sure if she really wanted to see the true extent of Nayeon’s anger.

Nayeon sat quickly, almost immediately getting her notebook from her tote bag. She turned the pages, mulling over a project or essay, Jihyo guessed.

“Get these books. I don’t give a shit if they’re being used by someone. Get them,” she ordered, giving her a pink post-it with a neat list.

Jihyo grimaced at her words. “Y-y-yes.”

It didn’t matter how much she prayed for the possibility of finding unused copies of the requested books; her panic grew when she realized there were few books that weren’t in their usual positions in the bookshelves.

She tried asking the librarian about the missing books, but when met with a non-commital “you’ll have to wait for the other students to finish reading them”, she scratched her head in frustration.

What if she just returned with the books she had actually found? The only books she wasn’t able to find were just two, as opposed to the remaining five that were resting between her arm and her bossom.

But no. As it was, Nayeon was already in a terrible mood. If she dared not to follow her instructions, Jihyo bet that Nayeon wouldn’t be empathetic to her plight.

There was always a space to try knew things, anyways, even if those things included stealing someone else’s research material.

She skulked near the place were most students were sitting, and, after a few minutes of waiting, she finally saw one of the requested books on a guy’s table. He seemed overly focused, so it was almost impossible to hope for him to leave the table, unless it was an emergency.

She tried piecing a coherent lie, to lure out of there for a moment or two. Did he drive a car? Or what if she said a friend asked for him?

“Excuse me,” she timidly reached out for his shoulder. Her hand stopped mid-air when the man took one of his earphones off, and looked at her in the eyes.

“Oh, it’s you,” he said brightly, an easy smile flourishing on his lips.

“Oh, ah... uhm,” Jihyo mumbled, gobsmacked.

“Do you still remember me? Jinsung, from the cafe.”

“Y-y-yes. Of c-course!” she answered hurriedly, making his smile widen.

“So, what did you need?” he took his other earphone off his ear.

“O-oh. Ah, w-well. I-I... A-a-are you u-u-using that b-book?” she asked, chastising herself for finding herself more speechless than usual.

“Ah,” he exclaimed as he followed Jihyo’s gaze. “I was using it, but not anymore. Take it.”

“A-a-are you s-s-s-s-sure?” at the man’s nod, she bowed. “T-t-thank you s-so m-m-much.”

“No problem,” he smiled again, handing her the book.

“W-w-w-well... ah. S-s-see you.”

“Bye,” he waved.

Jihyo’s heart was beating out of her chest, completely surprised by the unexpected encounter. She couldn’t freak out right now. She still had to find the last book.

The last book was being read by a girl at the last table, in the far right corner. She was hurriedly making annotations while her other hand rested on the book.

Jihyo’s phone rang, and she took it out to see the message.

_What’s taking you so fucking long?_

She jumped at the message. She had to do this quick.

Finally, fortune seemed to be on her side. The girl suddenly stood, presumably to find the bathroom, leaving her bag and the book on the table. Jihyo waited for a few more seconds, until she was out of sight, to rush to the table and grab the book.

She rushed as much as she could, stopping at Nayeon’s table. She was out of breath, her heart hammering at the two inconveniences.

“Are you usually this slow?” Nayeon asked bitingly as she snatched one of the books from Jihyo’s hand.

“S-s-sorry. There w-w-were...”

“Save it. I don’t care,” she said now more disinterested as she read the book. Jihyo’s face burned in shame and, now that she was finally thinking without a hurry, an unhealthy amount of guilt as she sat opposite the older girl.

They stayed in silence after that, and Jihyo dared not to disturb it.


End file.
